A Pakistani lawyer has moved the Lahore High Court, asking it to direct the government to bring back the famous 'Dancing Girl' statuette from India, it was reported on Tuesday.

The ancient bronze statue excavated from Mohenjo Daro was sent for exhibition to India on the request of the National Arts Council, Delhi, some 60 years ago. (Reuters)

A Pakistani lawyer has moved the Lahore High Court, asking it to direct the government to bring back the famous ‘Dancing Girl’ statuette from India, it was reported on Tuesday.

The ancient bronze statue excavated from Mohenjo Daro was sent for exhibition to India on the request of the National Arts Council, Delhi, some 60 years ago. New Delhi later refused to return the statue, the petitioner claimed, Express News reported.

Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree made his request to bring back the ‘Dancing Girl’ to the Lahore High Court through a writ petition filed on Monday.

He claimed the statuette was actually a property of the Lahore museum, and urged the high court chief justice to take suo motu notice of the matter and direct the government to get the statue back from India.

Jafree contended that the 5,000-year-old statuette enjoyed the same historical importance in Pakistan as Mona Liza in Europe. He pleaded that the bronze piece of art was Pakistan’s cultural heritage and needed to be protected.